1) Neurofeedback When we study phobias, we look at the way in which a conditioned fear response is replaced with a more positive response in systematic desensitisation. The problem with this is that the person still has to be exposed to their feared object or situation, albeit in stages. Neurofeedback gets round this in an […]

1) Problem Gambling This extract of You And Yours on Radio 4 features Henrietta Bowden-Jones who also features in the audio on the gambling webpage. It focuses on a case of a woman who lost a very large amount of money through online gambling. Three points emerge. Firstly, the personal account does not include reference […]

1) Effectiveness Of Antidepressants A large scale study was published this week about the effectiveness of antidepressants. Here is the BBC story. There’s been a bit of debate about what this research actually means. The Mental Elf has something important to say here. This is very good from Neuroskeptic. 2) Test For Autism In […]

1) Crowds This radio programme from the BBC World Service explores the sociology and psychology of crowds. It features Clifford Stott, who we see in the reconstruction of the Milgram procedure in the Year 1 course. It looks at the crowd as a source of social identity and also at the role which crowds play in social […]

1) The Disease Model When we were studying free will and determinism the other week, we saw that regarding mental illness as a disease like any other removes stigma because it treats mental illness as an illness like any other. The negative side to this is that people think there is nothing they can do […]

1) OCD As Dysfunctional Habit This podcast from MQ looks at OCD not as the product of irrational thinking but as a dysfunctional habit. The idea has been around for a while and is controversial but the research and the personal testimony are interesting. 2) Aspergers And Me Chris Packham’s documentary last week was […]

1) The Psychology Of Cults Cults are interesting from a social psychological point of view. They are based on obedience to an authority figure and rely on compliance. This video from TED Ed touches on some other Psychology concepts. 2) The Smartphone Psychiatrist The psychiatrist in question is Tom Insel. This extended profile is […]

1) ADHD You can listen to a discussion about ADHD in this episode of All In The Mind. There’s a link to a TV documentary here. ADHD used just to be diagnosed in children. There are now adults receiving diagnosis who were not diagnosed as children. This mirrors developments in the diagnosis of depression. Until […]

1) The Predictive Power Of Attachment Is Overrated That is the claim of this article. At a time when attachment is being promoted as a way of understanding later difficulties, the article questions what we know about the influence of attachment. The article makes some important points. People tend to confuse insecure attachment with no […]

1) Willem Kuyken on Mindfulness Based CBT A study has come out this week which shows that MCBT is effective in preventing relapse in people suffering multiple episodes of depression. You can read about that here. Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy can prevent recurrent depression Kuyken gives an extended interview about this study and other issues connected […]